JAMES MAJOR: The true cost of special education

Further clarification is needed around the Braintree School District’s plans to create its own classroom program to educate seven severely disabled elementary-aged students (“More local schools run their own special-ed programs to save money,” April 21).

The concept of saving schools money is eye-catching in our ever budget-conscious city and public, yet the cost comparison made by proponents in this case is not apples to apples. The only way in which a student could be served at less cost than in a C766-approved private special education school is if fewer or lesser services are provided to the student.

In our 2012 “Bottom Line Report,” the Massachusetts Association of Approved Private Schools, a membership association that serves as a clearinghouse of information for 87 private special needs schools in the commonwealth, compares the structure of special education costs in public schools, collaboratives and C766 schools.

This cost comparison takes into account substantial differences regarding the severity of student disability, staff to student ratios, the length of the school year and staff compensation as well as costs to state taxpayers, who subsidize school districts and collaboratives by hundreds of millions of dollars each year for teacher retirement pensions and school building construction. The results show C766 schools cost 35 percent less than public schools and collaboratives, after the hidden costs to taxpayers are considered.

A few examples: Public school and collaborative teacher salaries are 44 percent higher than those of C766 school teachers. Teachers at C766 schools are not part of the state’s retirement program. Benefits for public school and collaborative teachers are 13 percent more expensive than benefits for C766 schools.

Although tuition rates for students at C766 schools appear to be higher than those at public school programs, they are not because the numbers presented include all costs to the taxpayers. This is not the case of tuition costs at public schools and collaboratives.

If all the numbers were compared accurately, apples to apples, it would cost public school districts $80,000 per pupil to provide the same level of service a typical C766 day school provides for $59,000.

When all costs for educating special needs youth are compared, MAAP schools are revealed as the most economical option. Still, we believe more than money is at stake. The real issue is which system of education is better for each individual student. Some students thrive in the public school system. Others find success in C766 schools. Together with their physicians and education professionals, parents should have the right to choose which school best suits their child’s needs, independent of costs.

James Major is the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Approved Private 766 Schools.